“I don’t know if I saw a decline, I saw an offensive line that didn’t afford him a lot of protection, and made things very difficult,” said Aikman, who will call Sunday’s game. “And I think that with that then there were times when Eli maybe felt like he had to do more than he probably should have felt.

“Does Eli need to play better? Yes, and I think he would be the first to acknowledge that. But I think that team has some holes that they’ve got to correct. They’ve got to address that offensive line. We had a number of their games toward the end of the season, and he could introduce himself to those tackles on just about every drop-back pass, and that can’t happen if you’re going to have success.”

Aikman also was asked how New York might appeal to Tony Romo.

Troy AikmanAP

“I think Tony would fit in great in New York,” Aikman said. “I think he would handle the scrutiny of that city very well. I actually think he would thrive within that atmosphere.”

Should the Jets pursue Romo?

“I think that anyone who needs a quarterback should take a look at him,” Aikman said. “I think you’ve got to do your own internal evaluations as far as what his medical history is, and how confident you are that he’s going to be able to be given first of all the protection needed. And when that breaks down, how confident are you that he’s going to be able to take hits and get back up?”